Information Evil? - Extending the Panopticon

2009-03-27

• Foucault argues that the bureaucratic systems that regulate society extend the Panopticon of subtle social control deep into the inner most reaches of our psyche. (Foucault, 1975)
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• The basis for this need to control and organise society finds its roots in the concepts of ownership and possession, the ability to accrue and control wealth and assets above and beyond that of others, and to then retain that control.
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• The ideologies upon which modern Capitalism are based were first manifested in the Protestant work ethic. Himanen (2001) . This enshrined work and social compliance as the cornerstones of a godly life. At its heart lay the all seeing, omnipresent eyes of God inspecting his flock as they deified themselves through good honest labour, working daily for their place in heaven. Work became an end in itself, no longer based on productivity but rather hours spent in toil. It enslaved the working classes into a life of holy drudgery with the promise of eternal salvation if they complied.
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• The church acted as an intermediary with the great omnipotent power of God and thus held sway over the lives of many whilst underpinning governments and bureaucratic institutions.
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• As rational thought and the development of technology have gradually slain the myth of an omnipresent God, governments and those with an interest in social control have sought to fill the void with less celestial threats.
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• Whilst bureaucracies have never had religious ideology at their core they do rely on principles of behavioural modification with the threat of social, legal and religious consequences.
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• New technologies enable bureaucratic systems to micromanage themselves and grow on an unprecedented scale whilst also allowing them to extend the limits of surveillance in support of their goals of social conformity, cost cutting and efficiency.
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• In order to accept the control of faceless bureaucracies utilising surveillance as a tool for the furtherance of freedom and justice it is necessary to view the state as a benevolent god-like body that can be trusted with the interests of all and which has an inherent sense of right and wrong with which all of the population agree. It is also necessary to think of the ‘criminal element’ of society as separate social strata which must be controlled and exemplified as a failure to conform.
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• This dissertation aims to investigate how technology has aided the growth of bureaucratic systems in developing their internal structures whilst extending the effectiveness of the surveillance systems that underpin their powerbase, in contrast with the initial ethics and ideals that contributed to the development of the information technology revolution using London as a microcosm of a contemporary capitalism ruled by bureaucracy, extending its power through surveillance.
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• Progressive development of computer systems has lead to an almost invaluable status within society, underpinning most of the daily routine of modern society. Vehicle engine management, financial systems, and the formulation of corporate and governmental policy are all examples based on computer models and analysis of data.
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• Has all of this allowed modern technology in the form of organised information storage and computerised electronic surveillance replaced religion as a method of social control?
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Information Evil - Full Text